Nine To Noon for Wednesday 24 May 2023

 

09:05 Rate hike expected - households already in "world of pain"

Economists are united in the view that interest rates will be hiked again today by the Reserve Bank as it continues to battle inflation. The majority are picking a 25 basis point rise to 5-point-5 percent, but a solid minority is picking a 50 point rise, citing higher than expected budget spending, and a surging numbers of immigrants. So with the cash rate potentially rising as high as six percent by the middle of the year, what sort of pain is coming down the pipe for borrowers? And what other choice does the Reserve Bank have today,  given stubbornly high inflation? David Cunningham is a former head of the Cooperative Bank, and CEO of mortgage broker Squirrel. He says many borrowers are already facing a world of pain at the current cash rate, and he's imploring the Reserve Bank not to hike again. Kathryn also speaks with Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olson.

09:30 Using AI to value companies

Can machine-learning algorithms value stocks more accurately than traditional methods and evaluate a company's true value?.  A research team at the University of Auckland has successfully used artificial intelligence to evaluate the actual value of companies. The data used is based on profitability, efficiency, growth, risk and other factors, and the research has recently been published in a leading global accounting journal. It shows that machine learning algorithms can provide very accurate stock valuations, often more accurate than traditional methods. Dr Helen Lu is a senior lecturer accounting and finance, at the University's Business School, she was part of the research team and explains the findings.
 

09:45 Australia: Racism debate, PwC scandal, Taser inquiry, Harris dies

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton join Kathryn to talk about the racist sentiment that's been ignited over the proposed Voice to Parliament, prompting the resignation from the ABC of one its highest-profile journalists, Stan Grant. PwC is under pressure to name names as the scandal around its double-crossing of the Australian government over anti-tax avoidance grows. A 95-year-old woman is receiving end-of-life care after she was tasered by a police officer. And disgraced Australian entertainer and convicted paedophile Rolf Harris has died aged 93.

10:05 Emily Valentine: feathers, photography and social housing activism

Award-winning Sydney-based artist and activist Emily Valentine uses art to advocate for her passion: decent public housing.  Exhibiting in the style of a real estate agent's hoarding, her photography shows people living in run-down rentals, under the banner Real State Tenancies.   Emily has spent years trying to improve social housing, for Sydney's most vulnerable people, renting sub-standard accommodation, including boarding house tenants, some of which, in a horrible parallel, where victims of a fatal arson attack last year in the Sydney suburb of Newtown. Photography is one of Emily's most recent artistic mediums. She specialises in creating objects and wonderous animals using, or decorated with, bird feathers. For this, Emily is a two-time World of Wearable Art winner, in the Bizarre Bra category for her Budgerigar Brassierre, and in the Work with the Most WOW Factor category, her Sulphur Crested Frockatoo.

10:35 Book review: There's a Cure for This: A Memoir by Dr Emma Espiner

Paul Diamond reviews There's a Cure for This: A Memoir by Dr Emma Espiner, published by Penguin Random House NZ

10:45 Around the motu : Chris Hyde in Hawkes Bay 

Chris talks to Kathryn about Hawke's Bay being named one of the 12 wine capitals of the world, the reopening of State Highway Two to Wairoa and what that means for the community, and the Havelock North coffee shop which gave away free coffees after its Eftpos stopped working. Locals have been quick to pay up.

Chris Hyde is the editor of Hawkes Bay Today.

11:05 Music with Ian Chapman: Christchurch bands Ragnarok and Odyssey

This week for NZ Music Month Ian Chapman revisits two of Christchurch’s favourite and most flamboyant bands from the 1970s: Ragnarok and Odyssey. Ragnarok have been disbanded for decades although their debut album was re-mastered and re-released in 2022 to much acclaim. Remarkably, Odyssey continue to rock’n’roll onwards and will celebrate their 50th anniversary on September 9th this year.   

 Ian Chapman is a Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Music at Otago University.

11:20 Celeste Geer: The Endangered Generation?

Award-winning Australian film-maker Celeste Geer is in New Zealand for the launch of her latest documentary, opening the Doc Edge film festival in Auckland tonight.  The Endangered Generation? explores the impact climate change is having on indigenous culture and traditions, featuring Maori, First Nations and Panamanian Guna people. It's narrated by Oscar-winning actor and producer Laura Dern. The wonders of the natural world and the power of human connection and resilience under pressure are themes throughout Celeste's work. Her previous film Then The Wind Changed, about the Black Saturday Bush Fires, charted her own family's recovery from the devastating disaster. 

11:45 Should we talk more openly about what we earn?

Why are Kiwis so shy when it comes to detailing what they earn? As more people face the financial squeeze, is it time to be more open about what we can and can't afford? Kathryn is joined by Simran Kaur to talk about how to create a more inclusive environment that doesn't pile on the pressure and helps people stick to their budgets. 

Simran Kaur is the co-host of the podcast Girls That Invest. This discussion is of a general nature, and does not constitute financial advice.

 

 

Music played in this show

Track: Nsera
Artist: Fatoumata Diawara (Feat. Damon Albarn)
Time played: 9.30am

Track: Terrible Sons 
Artist: Hold Your Light High 
Time played: 9.45am

Track: Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
Artist: Bob Dylan
Time played: 10.35am

Track: Mannish Boy
Artist Muddy Waters
Time played: 10.40am